JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures fell for a second straight session on Thursday, tracking weakness in rival oils on the Dalian and Chicago exchanges, while easing crude oil prices also weighed.

The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 6 ringgit, or 0.13 per cent, to 4,691 ringgit (US$1,148.63) a metric ton in early trade.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 0.13 per cent, while its palm oil contract lost 0.26 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.29 per cent.

Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as they compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Oil prices fell more than US$1 on Thursday as forecasters lowered global oil demand projections for 2026 because of the disruptions from the US-Israeli war on Iran, though the supply constraints from the conflict provided a floor for the market.

Lower crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Malaysia has lowered its September crude palm oil reference price to a level that maintains the export duty at 10 per cent, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed on Wednesday.

Brazil’s Supreme Court formed a majority on Wednesday to rule that the soy moratorium agreement, which barred companies from buying soybeans from areas deforested after 2008, is legal, exempting grain traders and processors from paying compensation sought by farmers, who argued the pact constitutes a cartel.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.05 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

MARKET NEWS

Asian stocks rose on Thursday after US inflation data came in as expected, dampening expectations of further near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes, while oil held near US$80 a barrel as Washington and Tehran remained deadlocked over efforts to end the Gulf war.

Source : NST